Erick Brian Colón, Christopher Vélez, Zabdiel De Jesús, Richard Camacho and Joel Pimentel auditioned for the first season of La Banda, a televised singing competition which started on Univision in September 2015, created by Simon Cowell and produced by Ricky Martin.[9] They all received a 'yes' from the judges, Ricky Martin, Alejandro Sanz and Laura Pausini, during auditions except Colón, though he was saved by Martin. The band's members competed individually with other contestants from Latin America and the United States before the show's judges. The boys had to go through several phases to become the winners. During the competition, they were put into groups, with Camacho and De Jesús in the same band, while Vélez, Colón and Pimentel were in another. The band was formed on the finale of the show, on December 13, 2015, when they received their name, which alludes to the Spanish word for five, "cinco", and is pronounced in English as it is spelled: "C-N-C-O." [10] They won a recording contract of 5 years with Sony Music Latin,[3] and rapper Wisin was scheduled to produce their first album.[1] Martin became their representative.[4][11]

On January 29, 2016, they released their debut single, "Tan Fácil"[14] which debuted on Billboard's Latin Rhythm Airplay at number 25,[15] number 23 on the Hot Latin Songs chart,[16] and instantly topped the U.S. iTunesLatino charts, later peaking at number one on the Latin Airplay chart.[17][18] On January 30, 2016, they held their first concert in The Fillmore Miami Beach.[19][20][21]

On May 13, they released their second single "Quisiera",[24] which peaked on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs at number 29,[3] with its music video premiering on June 3.[25] In May, they sang the national anthem at Yankee Stadium.[18][26] On July 13, the band was nominated for six awards,[18] at Premios Juventud and won five for Catchiest Tune - "Tan Fácil", My Pop/Rock Artist Producers' Choice Award, My Favorite Twitter Celebrity, and My Favorite Fan-Army; they also performed at the ceremony.[27][28]

In August, their fans, called "CNCOwners", voted the band first place in Billboard's "Favorite New Latin Boy Band Poll'.[3] On August 23, the group asked fans to locate hotspots for songs from their upcoming album, in a Pokémon Go inspired game, called 'CNCOGo', and Ecuadorian fans found the first song, "Cometa".[29]

On August 26, their first album, Primera Cita, (First Date, in English), produced by Wisin, was released.[4][5][30] Wisin spoke about their album saying, "It is a union of countries and cultures. It is what keeps us growing because the people can understand that we can unite different genres."[31] The album has fourteen tracks and includes an urban remix of "Tan Fácil" featuring the rapper, and a ballad version of the song "Quisiera” featuring Spanish singer Abraham Mateo.[30][32] On its release date, the band met fans while traveling with Ricky Martin on his tour, and they gave a concert at the Miami International Mall to celebrate the album's debut.[22][30][33]

In November, they filmed a new music video for one of the songs on Primera Cita, "Para Enamorarte", at the Los Angeles Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts. It was produced in conjunction with Toyota and included fans who also selected the ending of the video. A video clip was scheduled for airing on La Banda's season finale on December 11, then on Toyota's Latino Facebook page and on YouTube. They also announced plans for their first headlining tour in February 2017 in Latin America.[34] On October 7, they released the single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)", which peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and number 11 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.[35]

On February 7, 2017, the band was announced as one of four finalists in the category "Artist of the Year, New" for the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards, representing artists who charted well over the past year.[36] On February 26 they began their first headlining tour, Más Allá, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, for a total of 15 countries, including 40 performances in Central and South America, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and the United States;[36][37] and recorded music for their second album while on tour.[8]

On April 4, 2017, the group officially released the lead single from their second album, “Hey DJ”, featuring Puerto Rican singer Yandel; they also released a solo pop version. On August 18, CNCO released a remixed version of "Reggaeton Lento" featuring vocals from British girl group Little Mix as the second single from the record. On October 20, 2017, the group released the third single, “Mamita” from their second album. On March 3, 2018, the group released the song, "Mi Medicina," announcing the album's pre-order.[38][39] It was followed by "Bonita" two weeks later, on March 16, and finally "Fiesta en Mi Casa", also arriving two weeks later, on March 30. The music videos accompanied the songs' releases.

On April 6, 2018, they released their highly-anticipated second self-titled album, CNCO.[8] It debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and entered at number 33 on the Billboard 200, succeeding their debut, Primera Cita. The group released "Sólo Yo", along with its music video, to celebrate the album's release. The music video for the fifth single "Se Vuelve Loca" was made available on July 19, with a Spanglish version being released for digital download and streaming several hours later. It reached number one on the Latin Pop Songs Chart in October 2018.[40] The band embarked on the CNCO World Tour, starting in Guatemala. They announced shows in the United States, thus becoming their first U.S. tour.